Mumbai: Actor Urmila Matondkar has revealed that she had initially refused to be a part of the iconic song Chamma Chamma because of the perception surrounding item numbers in Bollywood during the late 1990s.
The actress shared the anecdote while appearing as a special guest on the upcoming episode of India’s Best Dancer Season 5, where she revisited the making of one of the most memorable songs of her career.
Urmila was initially against doing an item song
Recalling how the offer came her way, Urmila said she was approached for a guest appearance in the song from the 1998 film China Gate directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.
“I was told that Rajkumar Santoshi ji, the great director of the film China Gate, wanted me to do a guest appearance item song in the film. But I was completely not in favour of it because, at that time, item songs were looked at in a very negative way,” she said.
At the time, special dance numbers were often viewed differently from mainstream acting roles, and Urmila admitted that she was reluctant to associate herself with such a song.
Rajkumar Santoshi changed her perspective
The actress revealed that it was Rajkumar Santoshi’s vision for the song that eventually convinced her to take up the project.
According to Urmila, the filmmaker explained that he wanted to create a song that would leave a lasting impact on audiences and become an unforgettable dance number.
“He told me, ‘Urmila, there was a song that came out years ago, and whenever people talk about dance and choreography, this is one song that immediately comes to their mind. I want to create a song that is better than that one,’” she recalled.
The director’s confidence in the project ultimately changed her perspective and led her to agree to perform in the song.
Song was shot in just three days
Urmila also shared an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about the filming of Chamma Chamma.
She said she had asked choreographer Ganesh Acharya about the shooting schedule and was initially informed that the song would take around 12 days to complete.
However, the team managed to finish filming the entire song in just three days.
“I asked Ganesh master ji how many days this song would take to shoot, and he said the plan was for 12 days, but we ended up shooting the entire song in just three days,” she said.
Karisma Kapoor recalls the song’s popularity
Actor Karisma Kapoor, who serves as a judge on the dance reality show, also spoke about the impact the song had upon its release.
Recalling the immense popularity of the track, she praised Urmila’s performance and said she had personally complimented her for delivering such an energetic and memorable dance number.
“Woh time pe I remember when this song had come out, I complimented her and told her, what a song, amazing, and Urmila has done so well,” Karisma said.
A song that became a Bollywood classic
Released in 1998, Chamma Chamma went on to become one of Bollywood’s most iconic dance tracks and remains popular among audiences even today.
The song played a significant role in cementing Urmila Matondkar’s reputation as one of the finest performers and dancers of her generation.
Her latest revelation offers fans a fresh perspective on the making of a song that almost never happened with her and highlights how a change in perception led to the creation of one of Hindi cinema’s most celebrated dance numbers.
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